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Doppler Token

Doppler tokens are authentication credentials used to access the Doppler platform, which is a popular secrets management service. These tokens allow applications and users to securely retrieve and manage sensitive configuration data, such as API keys and database credentials. Exposure of a Doppler token can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data and potentially compromise the security of applications and infrastructure relying on Doppler for secrets management.

How Does It Look​

Doppler tokens can appear in various contexts, such as:

  • Environment variables:

    export DOPPLER_TOKEN="dp.st.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"

  • Configuration files (JSON, YAML, .env):

    {
      "doppler_token": "dp.st.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
    }
    doppler_token: dp.st.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
    DOPPLER_TOKEN=dp.st.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

  • Code snippets:

    doppler_token = "dp.st.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"

Severity​

  • 🔴 Critical

Doppler tokens are critical because they provide access to all secrets stored within a Doppler project. This includes API keys, database credentials, and other sensitive information. The blast radius of a compromised token can be extensive, potentially affecting multiple applications and environments that rely on Doppler for secure configuration management.

What Can an Attacker Do?​

With immediate access to a Doppler token, an attacker can retrieve all secrets stored in the associated Doppler project. This access can lead to significant security breaches.

Key actions an attacker can perform:

  • Retrieve sensitive data: Access API keys, database credentials, and other secrets (if the token has read permissions).
  • Modify configuration: Change or delete secrets, potentially disrupting application functionality (if the token has write permissions).
  • Access infrastructure: Use retrieved credentials to access cloud services or databases (depending on the secrets stored).
  • Escalate privileges: Use exposed secrets to gain further access to other systems or services (if additional credentials are stored).

An attacker could leverage the exposed secrets to move laterally within the network, potentially compromising other systems and services that rely on Doppler-managed secrets.

Real-World Impact​

The exposure of a Doppler token poses significant business risks, including:

Primary impact includes unauthorized access to sensitive configuration data.

Potential consequences include:

  • Data Exposure: API keys, database credentials, and other sensitive information (if the token has read access to secrets).
  • Financial Loss: Unauthorized use of cloud resources or services (if billing/resource creation is permitted).
  • Operational Disruption: Application downtime or malfunction due to modified or deleted secrets (if the attacker has modify permissions).
  • Reputational Damage: Loss of customer trust and brand reputation due to data breaches.

In the worst-case scenario, an attacker could use the exposed secrets to orchestrate a large-scale attack, leading to extensive data breaches and financial losses.

Prerequisites for Exploitation​

To exploit a Doppler token, an attacker needs:

  • Network access: Ability to connect to the Doppler API.
  • Additional context: Knowledge of the Doppler project or environment ID.
  • No rate limits: Unrestricted access to the Doppler API (if not rate-limited).

How to Verify If It's Active​

To verify if a Doppler token is active, use the following command:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer [TOKEN]" https://api.doppler.com/v3/configs/config/secrets/download

Valid credential response: A successful response will return the list of secrets in the specified format (e.g., JSON).

Invalid/expired credential response: An error message indicating unauthorized access or an invalid token.

Detection Patterns​

Common Variable Names:

  • DOPPLER_TOKEN
  • doppler_token
  • dopplerApiToken
  • dopplerSecret
  • dopplerKey
  • dopplerAccessToken

File Locations:

  • .env
  • config.json
  • config.yaml
  • settings.py
  • appsettings.json

Regex Pattern:

dp\.st\.[A-Za-z0-9]{24,}

Remediation Steps​

  1. Revoke immediately - Go to Doppler Dashboard > Access > Tokens and delete the compromised token.
  2. Audit access logs - Review Doppler audit logs for unauthorized access or changes during the exposure window.
  3. Assess blast radius - Identify all systems, applications, and environments that used the exposed token.
  4. Rotate credential - Generate a new token in Doppler with least-privilege permissions.
  5. Update dependent systems - Deploy the new token to all applications and update CI/CD pipelines securely.
  6. Harden access controls - Enable IP allowlisting in Doppler and require MFA for access.
  7. Implement secrets management - Migrate credentials to a secrets manager (HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager) to prevent hardcoding.
  8. Add detection controls - Set up pre-commit hooks and repository scanning to catch credential leaks before they reach production.

Credential exposures often go undetected for extended periods, increasing the window for exploitation. As a long-term strategy, plan to establish an internal process or engage an external vendor for continuous external exposure monitoring. This helps identify leaked secrets across public repositories, paste sites, dark web forums, and other external sources before attackers can leverage them. Proactive detection and rapid response are essential to minimizing the impact of credential leaks.

References​